The Promise
by Sugered
Summary: The days leading up to before Fang and Vanille are put in crystal stasis during the war of transgression in their home town of Oerba. (Set before ffxiii starts basically). Fang x Vanille.
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the author:** Hi, I haven't written a fanfic in a really long time. I love FF13, and Fang and Vanille were my favourite characters and pairing (people find Vanille annoying but I can get over that). I hope I have made this story as accurate as possible for you as I haven't played the game in a long time. Also, I wouldn't read this unless you have played Final fantast 13; especially as it'll contain spoilers if you haven't finished it yet. Well…enjoy!

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_When I awoke with Fang that day, neither of us could have predicted what would happen. But I never would have thought that together we would end up as the force that kept Cocoon itself alive. Despite my worries it seemed everything did turn out alright. Just like she promised…_

'Cocoon…it really does stick out like a sore thumb doesn't it, Fang?' Vanille played with a curl in her rosy coloured pigtail and stared idly up at the clear blue sky as she lay on the sparse ground of the rocky hillside. From here she could see the whole village of Oerba; the small schoolhouse, the railway line and the pale wind turbines turning gently with the breeze. Against the quaint little town of Oerba, Cocoon seemed like a malignant blot in the sky.

'Humph, that stupid crusty ball. To think people actually live in there…do they even realise that there is life outside Cocoon?' Fang replied with her arms crossed in her usual defiant manner.

'Listen.' She sat up suddenly 'Do you think there really will be a war? I mean yes – it seems silly that people live up there shrouded in bubble wrap by the Fal'Cie, but I don't get why we should bring it down. I mean, everyone's happy aren't they?' Fang sighed and turned away.

'No Vanille, they're not'. She began to walk away.

'What?! Hey! Fang don't just walk away from me.' Vanille jumped up and jogged after her friend. Turning towards Vanille, the bronze-skinned women looked into her eyes,

'Listen. Things are going to change around here whether you like it or not. You've got to keep up, okay?' her brow furrowed as Vanille stared back with that innocent ignorance in her soft green eyes.

'Alright, alright. I get it ok', the small girl squirmed and sighed as she broke free of Fang's penetrating glare and began to walk towards the village.

When they reached Oerba, the fleshy rose pink of dusk was blushing across the sky; only a few stars twinkled in the oncoming ominous shadow of night. Despite its beauty however, Vanille still couldn't get off her mind what Fang had said earlier. _Why should things change?_ It was no use asking herself this however. This dark thought had been ever-growing on her conscience since the villagers on Pulse began speculating about the war. _War, war, war. _It wasn't even the villagers that seemed to want it. No. It was someone else - a force that they could not disobey.

Shaking off this thought, Vanille rushed down to the beach. The sound of the waves as they calmly lapped the shore was enough to soothe the soul from any worry. As she stared out to sea Fang came to join her and sat down on the shore.

'Hope…' Vanille turned to Fang. 'Hope. That's what we can get from this; a tiny glimmer of hope'. Fang picked up a handful of ashen sand and watched the soft grains filter slowly through her sun-kissed fingers. 'Cocoon may end as dust', she let the last few grains blow away in the gentle breeze, 'but we live on Pulse, and that's what we fight for'.

'Listen Fang,' Vanille walked slowly to her friend's side, 'about that. Are you really going…to fight?' The words trembled off of Vanille's rosy lips and her eyes were dewy with tears ready to fall after these fearful words. Fang only grunted, and for a while they waited without speaking at all.

'You make it seem so bad Vanille', she spoke finally, turning around with a sad expression. She couldn't work out why her friend was so against the plan. Did she not want those on Pulse to survive?

'I don't know'. Sighing the pink haired girl sat down next to Fang and hugged her knees. Looking out the waves suddenly seemed dark and empty in the fading daylight. 'I just get a bad feeling about it. That's all'. She shrugged and lay her back down on the sand. It was just about dark now and the grains of sand were icy to touch compared to the warmth radiating off of her friend's body. It seemed to Vanille as if the land was dead, and that all the life had been sucked out of Oerba; as if Fang was the only real living thing there. They both sat in solemn silence as the gentle waves caressed the shore; it appeared as though they were deep in thought. Upon realising how dark it was, Fang got up and headed for the steps.

'Are you coming for dinner or what? I'm starving'. Vanille smiled at this. She remembered all of a sudden simple human pleasures such as food.

'Of course, I couldn't forget about food!' _Yes food- maybe that's it. Maybe I'm just hungry…and tired. _Still, she could not shake the feeling of apprehension that had gripped her. It had slowly been creeping up on her, and now it finally had its sharp talons around her; she feared she would not escape it.

Vanille spent that night wet with the cold sweat of fear. She couldn't forget about the arriving war, and although she didn't want to die it was the thought of killing many innocent people that chilled her to the bone. She prayed over and over again to the gods and goddesses that they would stop the war.

She woke at the peak of her nightmares and realised from the creased bed sheets that she must have been tossing and turning violently in her sleep. When her sleepy brain registered that it was dawn her hearing also picked up shouts in the distance. It was strange to hear people up this early, and not wanting to sleep Vanille quickly pulled on some clothes and hopped outside.

'No no! You _idiot_. I told you to put the flowers outside to temple…hmm so what?! Why are they down here then?!' Vanille could see in the distance from her front door that there were several men moving objects around. Curious as to what they were doing she strolled over.

'Umm…good morning village leader', she tried to smile sweetly despite her fatigue.

'Ah, Dia Vanille. Why are you up so early, did no one tell you about the celebration tomorrow? You'll want all the rest you can get.' The village leader was a short man, and he seemed to grow older every second; she swore several grey hairs appeared in the blink of an eye on his balding head. However, he was good at hunting the lobo that sometimes intruded on the village and killed the sheep, which –being the biggest threat to their comfy little village- meant that he was leader material.

'I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Sir'.

'You don't?' he looked stupidly at her as if she was ten year-old who didn't know what a spoon was. 'Blazin' Barthandelus. I told everyone yesterday!'

'I…went to bed early', she mumbled quietly and shuffled her feet. Obviously she missed some announcement for a stupid party or a feast.

'We have news', the village leader rubbed his hands eagerly and she could see his eyes were brimming with excitement, but not the kind of excitement before a party, but almost an excitement for something terrible. 'The seeress from Paddra –Nsu Yeul- has finally had a most incredible vision - a vision from the gods!' For a moment they both looked up to the sky. Far above the weak sun of dawn splashed hues of crimson and ash against the dormant ball in the sky. _Red sky in the morning…a shepherd's warning._

'And…what did the vision show?' Vanille didn't want to ask. She knew what it was.

'About the war! Oh Vanille! This is it; our time to destroy that stupid blot in the sky.' He suddenly put his arm round her shoulder and swept his other across the sky as if it was erasing the spherical nest up there. She looked on unimpressed. 'And the gods are on _our side._ Of course though…they need our help', he cleared his throat, 'The Fal'Cie Anima has asked for two servants from the village to be transformed into an almighty creature that will bring down Cocoon'.

'What?!' Vanille was startled. Yesterday there were speculations about war. Today it was finalised and now two sacrifices were needed. 'D-d-don't you think this is all a bit…sudden?' The village leader was not happy at this. He grunted.

'It's what the gods asked for.' And with that he picked up a box of festival decorations. 'The village meets at the temple _tomorrow_ at dawn. Do not be late'. Vanille watched him waddle off into the distance.

'Oh…no no no no no!' She screamed over the railing at the beach. The waves continued their calm retreat away from the shore, rushing back with the endless cycle of the tide. Her screams were stifled by the silence. It seemed as though no one would listen to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note from author: **Wow Vanille's hair. Is it pink, orange, pinky-orange?! I don't know, sorry if you find it changes from pink to orange a lot of the time. I also tried to include a little of Fang's perspective in this too to take a break from Vanille. This also has to be the longest fanfic chapter I've written yet. I think I have chapter ADHD :P 1000+ words and I am usually done with it! Anyway, Enjoy!

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_They say the fal'Cie made the Arks in preparation for the battle against the menace that lurks beyond. Where is this 'beyond' of which they speak? Do they mean cocoon, and the demons that dwell within?- On the nature of Fal'Cie FFX13_

Vanille went back to bed after hearing what the village leader had said; all this talk about war seemed to be draining the life out of her. She had gladly let her soft mattress and quilt swallow her up and she spent several hours in blissful, dreamless sleep. Awaking late, she decided to dress quickly and wear a simple pink dress instead of her usual gear. She left her house, stretching out in the midday sun. She felt its heat radiate deep to her bones; warming up her muscle and soothing her aches and pains. Vanille decided then to go out for a short stroll along the beach, and as expected she found her best friend waiting on the shore.

'Fang!' Vanille shouted and waved before running over.

'Hey Vanille, you're up late. Having a lazy day?' her eyes quickly glanced at Vanille's small form shrouded by the thin cotton dress, the sun shone through it revealing her delicate hour-glass figure, no doubt underneath the fabric was her perfectly pale and rosy un-tanned skin. Vanille was more of a people person; deciding to play with the local children or create the beaded jewelry the people of Oerba wore, and so her skin was only slightly tanned from her time spent on the beach. Fang on the other hand was always outdoors, always fighting and never spent a moment staying still. Whilst Vanille's years of gentle chores had left her with a slim body and soft-skinned hands, Fang on the other hand was well toned, dark-skinned and had rough hands from years of using her lance. The orange-haired girl shrugged her shoulders as she walked up to Fang.

'Maybe I am having a lazy day…I'm just so tired, ya know?'

'Ack, me too', the dark woman turned to look into the sea whilst the waves gently tumbled together onto the shore,

'Fang, what's wrong?' Vanille could instantly tell something was off, it wasn't like Fang to worry about much and to lose sleep over something seemed ridiculous even for a no-nonsense girl like her. But she didn't answer. 'C,mon Fang, you know you can tell me anything', Vanille beckoned Fang to confide in her, and she turned around and looked at Vanille with a pained expression.

'Listen Vanille, I've been thinking a lot recently about…about the war. And now all of a sudden Anima is going to choose two people to destroy Cocoon.' Vanille's eyelids fluttered silently towards the ground as she tried not to think about what Fang was saying. 'Vanille…that's a massive leg up. Before I thought we didn't stand a chance, but now I know we can win.' She took a step closer to the bright haired girl, but she kept her eyes shut. 'Listen, you can't hide the truth, which is why I am going to fight in war'. Vanille knew this had been coming for a while, but it seemed too soon.

'B-b-ut Fang, who's going to take care of me?' She whispered quietly looking up at the tall bronze-skinned woman, the sun reflecting off her smooth skin making it glow. _All I have ever needed stands in front of me, and now that's going to go?! _'You can't go Fang! It's dangerous!' Vanille burst out and grabbed hold of Fang's arm. Surprised, Fang took a step back.

'It's not like I've ever stayed out of danger. Why won't you let me go?'

'Because…', _because you're my everything? _'I…I think it's silly that everyone is jumping to the conclusion that we _need_ a war! Can't we work this out without fighting?'. She looked pleadingly into Fang's clear blue eyes.

'Oh come on Vanille. Why do you think we need a village leader? Why do you think we're trained to fight?' Fang was exasperated.

'Well, we don't have to stay in Oerba all the time. And Anima only protects the border…'

'Ha! Protects? We need to fight because Anima keeps failing. It lets the monsters in so we have to get rid of them ourselves, yet we still have to worship that fal'Cie.' Vanille was stuck; Fang was completely right. She'd always protected Vanille and that was one of the reasons why she felt so safe around her. But she shouldn't have to be protecting her. What Fang said was true; the fal'Cie was not doing what it promised and yet they still revered it as an almighty being.

'Maybe the fal'Cie grow old too. Maybe they break down just like us.'

'Then this is my only chance to do something.' Vanille bit down on her lip as it trembled. The sun had risen quite high in the sky now and it had brought about a humidity that seemed to choke her small lungs. She could feel her heart welling up whilst her chest constricted tightly around it like a deadly Boa. It was no use, Fang just kept coming back with a better answer each time.

'Please Fang!' She burst out and tightened her grip on her arm, tears streaming down her face. 'You can't do this…you can't leave me. It's not fair!' Her body racked with sobs as she buried her face in Fangs neck. Putting her arms around Vanille, Fang tried to comfort her. She looked down and gently kissed her soft, mandarin hair - lifting that delicate pointed chin upwards to face her.

'Vanille, I'm not just doing this for Pulse. I'm doing this to protect you, I'm going to fulfill _my_ promise to you unlike Anima,' she let go of Vanille, 'and if I can't protect you or Pulse, I might as well die in this war'. Wiping her tears Vanille took a step back and looked at Fang. She was serious about this. 'And Vanille, I'm not about to just lie down and die. I'm going to do something – this is my last chance, okay?' Her friend didn't answer; she just stood there and watched Fang with rivers of tears flowing out of her eyes. It seemed they had washed her vision of any naivety or ignorance she had about the war and the truth crushed her heart like an iron weight. Sighing, Fang turned around and walked up the steps from the beach and back into the village with Vanille watching the blurred figure swim out of her watery sight as she tried to drown out her misery. But she couldn't. She was about to lose her best friend. That foreboding feeling she had been experiencing was not fear of war, but rather –she realised now- the fear of losing Fang.

Vanille sat on the sandy shore hugging her knees and weeping, not caring whether on not her feet got wet and sandy. She didn't want Fang to fight because she might get injured, and she'd rather die than see Fang get hurt. It took a while for her to stop sobbing and shaking, by which time her face was a blotchy red mess. Not that it mattered; the only one she cared about had seen her cry many times and always comforted her. Fang never laughed at her puffy face whenever she had been crying. But where was Fang now? She felt bad for letting her walk of, wishing she could run up to her and say that she accepted her idea. But it wasn't that easy even though she was confident that Fang was a brilliant fighter. She'd always gone out hunting with the Yun clan and had taken Vanille as a young girl out on a few occasions trying to teach her to defend herself – something which she had to do more and more often as the fiends on Pulse encroached even more on Oerba. It was common knowledge that the Yun Clan were good hunters, and Fang was exceptionally good. Vanille herself had witnessed this, spending many days sitting on grassy banks sunbathing as she admired Fangs strong arms and fierce attacks.

_Maybe she'll be okay?_

Then it hit her – Fang _might_ be okay, but she would _definitely_ be okay with Vanille by her side. Maybe it was her turn to defend Fang? At this thought she leapt up and began to run up the steps. The idea in her mind elevated her spirits, making her giddy as the wind breezed coolly through her clothes and hair. She was laughing. It'd been a long time since she had laughed in pure delight like this; and all because she had finally realized that she didn't have to let go of Fang – she could stay right by her side, just like old times. But now it was her time to step up and take responsibility.

A fisherman was strolling barefoot along the path towards the beach. Vanille slowed down to talk to him as she saw him come into view.

'Good evening, sir!' She chirped.

'Vanille, hello!' The fisherman smiled sending soft lines along his weathered face. He tipped his hat up to look at her. She'd talked to him a briefly before as she often walked down the beach and he'd been there a few times preparing his small boat to go fishing. 'How can I help you young miss?'

'Well, I was wondering if you'd seen Yun Fang? She's tall, dark skin, lovely ebony hair…' Vanille flung her arm in the air to measure Fang's height, trying to demonstrate as clearly as she could to the Fisherman who Fang was.

'Ahh yes yes, I know. Yun Fang. Good with a pike! Hahaha' he chucked as he remembered how Fang effortlessly threw her pike through two large fish. 'Well, can't say I've seen her today'

'Not at all?' Vanille was disappointed, the Fisherman had a clear view of the bay and Fang had only left there half an hour ago. 'Well, thanks anyways'. She walked off feeling slightly deflated now. It was hard to tell where her friend would be; she wouldn't be hunting this late in the day but she wasn't at the beach. Vanille decided to check all the obvious places first and hopefully Fang could be discovered at one of these. As she walked along Vanille thought about signing up alongside her friend to fight in the war.

'Ah ha!' She gasped out loud, 'Fang must be signing up to join!'.

But as she ran along the path she was on one thought stopped Vanille in her tracks; where was the place to sign up anyway? They hadn't been told about it, all she knew is that they were choosing sacrifices for Anima tomorrow. Looking up at the sky it appeared as though night was crawling in – it brought no twinkling stars with it that night.

_Choosing sacrifices?! _Panic spread all down her body like frost creeping down a window, she could feel its spiky spindles slithering down her spine and the hairs pricked up on the back of her neck. _She wouldn't would she?_

But she would, and Vanille did not know yet however, Fang was already up at the brightly lit temple after dressing in the traditional hunting robes - awaiting the moment when Anima descended from the sky and picked an offering.

Vanille pushed this aside and tried searching elsewhere, but she wasn't anywhere to be found; neither at the beach, her house nor the hillside. There was only one place she hadn't checked yet – the temple.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note from the author: **Sorry this is such a short chapter, I haven't written one in ages. I just couldn't think of more to put in it, and I wanted to end it where it ends as it's a pretty good place. I have written a bit of chapter 4 already, so hopefully I'll get that done soon too. I do have exams though, so I might forget about it D:

_And lo, the viper Lindzei bore fangs into the pristine soil of our Gran Pulse; despoiled the land and from it crafted a cocoon both ghastly and unclean…Ye who honour Pulse: rise unto the heavens, and cast down the viper's nest! _– Author Unknown FFXIII

The temple glowed in the dim light of dawn –the ceremonial fires were lit and their flames danced wild shadows across the clutter of flowers, decorations and temple paint. Although the temple had no walls, only pillars, the trinkets that surrounded it created a thick membrane around the people inside and it seemed as though everything seem to say _you're not welcome_. Vanille suddenly felt intense feelings of fear, of worry and of nausea as she ascended the steps to the temple. She couldn't get a grip of her thoughts as they raced through her head; she tried to think hard but she knew that there was no way out of this situation.

Upon reaching the top the small girl began to look for her friend. Circling the outskirt of the crowd, she finally spotted Fang perched on a stone bollard near the temple stage, no doubt she wanted to be first to volunteer. The crowd was loud and buzzing with excitement, no matter how hard Vanille tried she could not raise her voice above the loud murmur of the eager audience to call out to Fang. Panic gripped her and beads of sweat began to develop on her forehead - it was too late to persuade her friend out of this. Vanille tried to call out louder this time, but still the her voice and attempts to push through were impermeable to the crowd.

There came a hush. Plasma green lights had started to descend from the sky; transfixing the villagers gaze as they stared up in awe. With its mechanical arms spread out it appeared as though it were an angel; or a crucifix ready for the next sacrifice. The metal and machinery groaned and scraped around its crystal core as the massive being settled its pointed torso onto the ground; there it balanced with it's crystal centre –as large as the temple itself- glowing green and illuminating the stunned faces of the people. The crowd were silent and wide eyed as they stood paralysed by the aura that was radiating off of their 'God'. Despite the fact that it was there everyday, protecting them from the vicious wildlife that lurked on Pulse, no one had ever come as close as this to the Fal'Cie Anima. At this point the primary shock was over, and now some woman had gained enough of their sense to faint and some small infants and babies started to cry with fear of the enormous being that had rested on the ground. Slowly and with building confidence the village leader slid through the crowd to the edge of the temple where the being rested on the side of the hill outside.

The temple had been created with no walls; as if the centuries old architect had created the building with its purpose of being a celestial conference centre already concreted in his mind as he drew up the plans.

'We welcome you, O'mighty Protector Anima to our humble land'. The village leader bowed as he addressed the Deity, the rest of the villagers following his steps - their beaded and feathered bracelets and necklaces gently chiming as they lowered their foreheads to the ground. Vanille remained standing behind the pillar, peaking out at the glowing creature. The Fal'Cie did not answer.

'Um...uh...we have...gathered here today, Anima, to offer you two most magnificent warriors.'

'Very good humans', Anima began to speak, 'I am aware of your offer'. The crowd felt its almighty, booming, hollow voice sweep over their backs and were glad that the fal'Cie could not see their frightful faces bowed into the dirt.

'Yes, yes. Umm...well we haven't exactly had many volunteers. But we have had...one.' The village leader looked around, and then motioned for the volunteer to step forward. Slowly and calmly with an effortless confidence, Fang stood up and walked towards the Fal'Cie. She looked up towards Anima before bowing and addressing the being.

'O'mighty Anima, it would be an honour to serve you in this war'.

'Fang, No!' A cry came out from amongst the crowd. A hushed murmur picked up as a petite girl pushed her way to the front. Vanille stepped out in front of the audience, Fang, and the God. 'Fang please, don't do this!' The desperation and pain in her eyes was heart-breaking for Fang to see.

'Vanille...I-' The tanned woman began but was cut off prematurely.

'Oerba Dia Vanille. It is good to see you came to the meeting'. The audience became silent as the Fal'Cie addressed the girl who dared to cause a commotion in the presence of their Protector. Vanille looked up at Anima. Standing close to the being, its glowing green light was almost blinding in the dimness of the rising sun. 'Yes. Dia Vanille. It is important that you are here. You see, my people, I am not here to ask you for two volunteers'.

_What? No volunteer. Can this be true?_

'No, I am actually here to _demand_ two sacrifices'. The village remained silent. They knew that this was coming anyway. 'Of which I have already chosen'.

As the fal'Cie said this, Fang and Vanille dropped to the ground, their heads held in agony. The crowd looked on in shock as the pair struggled through the painful vision of their task; a whisper of the two girls transforming, a flicker of the beast they will become, and an explicit view of Cocoon being smashed to pieces; people and homes burning and falling to the ground slowly like the ashes they will become. Then both their visions eased into glorious pain-releasing darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note from author: **This can get quite complicated, especially if you haven't read much about Fang and Vanille's past, and the whole fal'Cie as gods and their creator buisiness. Hope you can understand it! (Basically the fal'Cie want to destroy cocoon in-order to summon a gate which will allow them to get their creator back. The fal'Cie are the 'gods' of the humans, they provide everything for them from power to food.)

_Pulse, Lindzei and Etro. Two gods and one goddess created by the divine force Bhunivelze. With their power they created the Fal'Cie. But Etro? He was forgotten, and in an act of self-loathing suicide created humanity. All was well and fine, but these shadowy creatures called 'humans' soon became the hideous barrier which divided the Fal'Cie from their creator. And whilst they provided humanity with everything they needed to survive, they plotted their destruction._

Vanille awoke screaming to find the temple emptied of people. Fang lay unconscious beside her. Lifting her aching body, she managed to drag herself over to Fang before she collapsed beside her. A gentle tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the painful vision she had just received. Yesterday she would never have imagined the kind of horror that would be born in the temple, now she saw it clean and clear in the vision - in the form of the beast Ragnarok.

'Fang, I can't believe this is happening.' Vanille sniffed, staring at the back of her friend's head as she lay unresponsive beside her. She looked at the individual strands of Fang's hair, finding warmth in its dark and glossy fibres. Gaining some strength now, the orange-haired girl managed to push herself off the ground. The world spun around her head as her head became acquainted with being back in reality after the vision. But something was niggling away at the back of Vanille's mind; although she felt like hell her body was slowly recovering, all apart from a burning sensation on her thigh. Fang began to stir, grumbling and scratching at her upper arm. She lifted herself up with much more strength than her small friend had done; the muscle of her toned arms defined by gentle caressing shadows. It always amazed Vanille how someone so strong and powerful could still be so feminine, but somehow her tanned friend managed it, and even though she beat them at sport and hunting, Fang still had all the village boys chasing after her. Vanille looked over at her friend who was staring confused out at the open land - a hand clasped over the top of her arm.

'Fang...' A small voice croaked from not too far off.

'Vanille. Thank goodness you're okay.' She rushed over to her and embraced her. But as she pulled away something caught Vanille's eye.

'Wait. What's that on your arm?' The small girl clasped her friend's tanned arm. On the upper part a strange pattern had appeared. A brand. 'This can't be.' She suddenly pulled up the hem of her own skirt to reveal the source of pain that had been imprinted on her own thigh. An identical brand had appeared on her pale skin too, and a sickness rose in her belly. Fang looked at the ugly mark that had been imprinted onto Vanille's delicate thigh, before gently brushing the soft, tattooed skin, spreading coolness over the burning brand. She looked into those soft green eyes and felt guilt wash over her. She had never planned to get her friend messed up in this, her original intention was to fight in order to protect Vanille.

'We can work this out', she swallowed hard and looked into those deep green eyes. The same worry that was on her own face was reflected back.

'Can we really? Fang, I- I mean we...we're going to hurt millions of people.'

'No'. A sudden voice boomed out over the small building of worship.

The two girls jumped and turned to face the left side of the temple. In between the mesh of brightly coloured decorations, the great, machine-bulk of Anima could still be seen glowing beside the temple; its sickly light seeping through the gauze of flowers, ribbons and trinkets the hung from the pillars and beams.

'Anima, there's been some mistake.' Fang called out. 'Vanille should never have been branded. I beg you to change her back'. She bowed down to the fal'Cie.

'Unfortunately, you will remain l'Cie until you fulfil your purpose'. Vanille looked down at her brand as it slowly sunk into her mind that she was now stuck with murdering millions, or a fate worse than death. 'You saw your almighty vision, now follow that path. Awake your own power and form the beast Ragnarok in order to destroy those humans that sleep in their cocoon in the sky.'

'Anima, tell me, why are you doing all this?' Vanille clenched her fists in anger, her small nails dug into the delicate, soft flesh of her palms. She pulled herself apart from Fang in order to turn angrily to the deity that lingered outside the temple.

'The humans must die'. The being spoke again.

'But why?!' There was a long pause before the fal'Cie spoke again.

'We must summon Etro's gate to meet our progenitor', Anima spoke. 'But, we cannot physically carry this act out ourselves. We are tied to the very matter of life that lives within cocoon with an un-breakable bond. We cannot bury in the dirt what we once cradled and gave life; it is prohibited'.

'So you mean to kill the humans; their sacrifice in order to summon your creator? No! No, no no!' Vanille now screamed at Anima. 'Change us back now. We are not going to carry out your murder.'

'Vanille! What's done is done. Why can't you accept that?', Fang shouted back at her. The orange-haired girl turned to face her, disbelief on her face. 'Vanille, it's cocoon or us. What would _you _do? What would you do if it meant giving up your best friend?' Fang's eyes were glazed over now, her features soft, the previous anger washed out by her sorrow. Outside a beautiful orange shade seeped across the red sky as the sun waited eagerly to break over the hills, bearing the world into the early morning.

'I just don't want to hurt anyone', Vanille's voice came out small, quieted by the hurt that was plaguing her heart. Fang couldn't help but feel a surge of pity and regret rush over her body. 'I just…I'm so sorry Fang'.

'It's know, Vanille. It's going to be alright, You don't have to hurt anyone' Fang moved over and reached forward to put her hand on Vanille's shoulder. She pulled her into a close embrace. Vanille wept for a whilst into the soft fabric of her friend's clothing, letting the warmth try and heal her aching heart. Lifting her friend's chin up, Fang smudged the tears away from her eyes. They looked at each other for a moment before Vanille realised what her friend meant. 'You're not the warrior, I am'.

'Fang, you don't have to do this,' she whispered. The small girl pressed a dainty hand over her friend's brand. 'Neither of us have to'. Her voice was soft now as she tried to persuade Fang to rethink.

'No, I have to. I can't put you through this Vanille, I've already seen that you're not ready. But I still need to save Pulse.' The tanned woman stepped away, and walked towards the front of the temple. Anima began to shine brighter, the clashing, green glow from its crystal turning the sky back to a deep murderous red. 'I promise you that everything is going to be ok', and with these final words Fang's brand started to glow.

'It has begun', cried the fal'Cie.


End file.
